top of page
Writer's pictureUMPC

Going Your Own Way

Good Wednesday morning! It is going to be a beautiful day, so enjoy it!


Here is another very relevant devotional from "Connect the Testaments."


September 14: Going Your Own Way

Jonah 1:1–4:11; Acts 13:1–12; Job 22:1–13


I work hard to make my disobedience socially acceptable: “I have a stubborn streak,” I explain, or “I’m just like my dad.” But the truth is that my weaknesses aren’t cute or transitory—and they’re not anyone else’s fault. Instead, my disobedience is a deep-rooted, rebellious tendency to follow my own path when I should be humbling myself, seeking wisdom, or obeying leaders who know better.


The book of Jonah illustrates these opposing responses to God’s will. We can easily identify with Jonah’s stubborn character. When God tells Jonah to warn Nineveh of its coming judgment, Jonah not only disobeys, but he sets off in the opposite direction. As Jonah’s story progresses, however, we see God orchestrate a reversal. In His incredible mercy, He breaks Jonah’s stubborn streak and replaces it with humility. God also has mercy on the Ninevites—a “people who do not know right from left”—and they repent in sackcloth and ashes (Jonah 4:11).


It’s easy to diminish or rationalize our persistent faults. Yet when we’re faced with circumstances or people who hold up a mirror and show us who we truly are, we have the opportunity to change. God is molding us into people who want to follow His will, and He’ll provide opportunities to shape us to that end. We just have to respond to His calling.


How are you stubbornly insisting on your own way? How can you respond in a way that honors God?


REBECCA VAN NOORD


John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).


Be blessed today!

Pastor Joe

9 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Words and Actions

Good Thursday morning! I hope you are all having a great week! It's a rainy and cool October morning. Remember a couple of weeks ago when...

Defibrillators for Sardis

Good Wednesday morning! It is rainy and much cooler today, Fall is definitely here. As Wednesday is a day when people make weekend plans,...

It Will Eat You Alive

Good Tuesday morning. What a beautiful day we have been given. Cooler weather is moving in and it looks like we are going to get some...

Comments


bottom of page